George de laval



" @.nyi'LAvAL.

DETONATING FUSE.

. ,I9IT.

d Patented' July 22, 1919.

w//Tmt STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE DE LAVAL, OF ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO T. A. GILLESPIE COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORI'ORATION 0F DELAWARE.

DETONATING-FUSE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented'July 22, 1919.

f Application filed August 17, 1917. Serial No. 186,675.

To all 'whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE DE LAVAL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Orange, county of Essex, State of New Jersey, have linvented certain new and useful Improvements in Detonating-Fuses, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to detonating fuses of a well known type in which the fuse is fired by contact between the end of the firing pin and detonatorcap.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a device which is not armed until the shell has been fired and is in flight, and which also, while becoming armed in flight, Iis freev from the possibility of accidentally exploding while in flight, and which is certain to explode on impact.

Another obj ect of my invention is to provide an arrangement by which the primer can be located inside of the explosive charge, so as to insure an explosion when the primer is struck. a

l With these and other objects in view my linvention consists of certain novel features of combination, construction and arrangement of parts as will be more fully pointed out and described in the appended claims.

In ythe drawings Figure 1 is a sectional elevation, much enlarged, of one form of fuse to which an illustrative form of my invention has been applied.

Fig. 2 shows a sectional view of an alternative form for the locking pin. 4

The corresponding parts are referred. to both in the drawings and in the specication by similar reference characters.

In the drawings, 10 is the body of the fuse closed at the inner end by a cap 11 overa cavity 12 in which an explosive charge 1s placed. As a suitable means for igniting this charge, I have illustrated a well known form in which fulminate in the form of rings, as illustrated at 13, is placed in aseries of grooveson a bushing 14. In the form which I have illustrated, I have placed my primer 15 well` within this charge of fulminate and also within the charge 12, the yprimer being connectedexplosively to the fulminate through any suitable slow or fast burning compound placed in theopenings 11.6 and 17.

18 isa bushing screwed into the bushing.

vide a bushing 22 in the plunger 20 and a spring 23 between the bushing 22 and the screw 21, this spring tending normally to hold the bushing22 in the position shown in Fig. 1.

1 In order to prevent accidents in handling, I provide a plurality of locking devices to hold the plunger 20 in the position shown in Fig. 1, so that the firing pin 19 can not touch the primer 15. In Fig. 1, I have shown one form of such locking device, as comprising a pin 24 held toward the center ofthe fuse by a spring 25, the plunger and spring being `held in place by a screw 26. The inner end of the plunger 24 extends into a groove 27 in the plunger 20, the end of the plunger preferably being slightly beveled to provide a quick release when the shell is rotated.'

Preferably, three of these locking devices will be provided, spaced evenly around the axis of the fuse. With the arrangement so far described, it willv be obvious that the shell with the fuse illustrated in place, can be handled without danger of the firing pin striking the primer. .When the shell is fired, however, the centrifugal action throws back the locking bolts 24 against the pressure of the springs 25 and freesthe plunger2() for forward movement. If this plunger 20 has any tendencyto creep forward during flight, or if, from the shock of the discharge it is moved forward, it is prevented from carrying the pointof the firing pin 19 against the primer by the spring-seated bushing 22 which .is arranged so that it projects far enough beyond the plunger 20 to strike the end ofthe bushing 18, in the form chosen for purposes of illustration, before the point of the pin reaches the primer. On impact, however, the shock is suiiicient to throw` the plunger V20 and the firing pin 19 forward against the pressure of the spring 23 to ex- The cap 35 is screwed into the base of the fuse to secure the parts in place. In order that this cap will not produce sufficient pressure on the pins 24 to prevent their operation, I may provide a clearance between the base of the cap 35 and end `of the plungerl 20 when the latter is in its inoperative position, and a weak spring 3G to hold the 'plun-.

ger 20 lightly against the pins 24, but with insuificient force toprevent the pins 24 moving out by centrifugal force.

It will be obvious that many forms of locking devices may be used instead of the pin illustrated in Fig. 1. For instance, in Fig. 2, I have shown a simple form comprising a ball 2S resting in a' groove 29 in the plunger 20, this ballbeing` held in place by a spring 30 and a screw 31.

In order to lock the plunger 20 out of normal or inoperative position after theshell is in flight, and so as to prevent the return oic the locking devices 24 to locking position in the event anything, such as a glancing blow, stops the rotation of the shell, I provide centrifugally operated locking devices. As an illustrative form of such devices, I shown a ball 82 located in an opening in the plunger 20. The interior wall of the body member 10 is cut away as at 33 so that, as the plunger 20 moves forward in Hight with the shell rotating, the ball 32 flies outward under centrifugal force until it contacts with the wall 34. While in this position, it is impossible for the plunger 20 to return to its normal position to be relocked by the plungers 24. A plurality of the balls 32 are provided so that, no matter what may happen to the shell, 4at least one of them is sure to lock the plunger 20 out of inoperative position. y

While I have shown the wall 33 cut away, at such a position that the ball 32 cannot move into it when the plunger 20 is moved 'forward until the end of the bushing 22 contacts with the end of the bush-ing 18, it will be imderstood that such cuteaway portion may be located farther tothe left of Fig. 1, so that a very short movement of the plunger 2O will cause it to be locked out of inoperative position.

While I have shown an arrangement in which the primer 15 is placed well within the explosive charge, it will be understood that' the cap may be brought nearer the lett hand end of Fig. 1 with the usual openings connecting the primer with the fulminate. In such an arrangement, the pin 19 would be materially shortened and because it is so shortened, it would not be necessary to support it by any equivalent of the bushing 18, the pin in such case extending, in fact, normally not quite through the bushing 22..

-While I have shown the primer as relatively stationary and the firing` pin movable in relation to it, it is obvious that such anlmally to lock the plunger and firing rangement may be reversed, with the plunger carrying the primer and the pin being relc tively stationary.

I claim:

1. In an impactfuse for explosive shells, a primer, a tiring pin, a plunger to which the base of the tiring pin is attached, locking members adapted to be unlocked by centrifugal force and constructed and arrangednorpin 1n inoperative position, the plunger and the pin being free to move out of inoperative position when the locking members are released, and spring devices constructed and arranged normally to prevent the ring pin striking the primer when the plunger moves out of inoperative position during flight but adapted to be overcome by the impact on striking.

2,'In an impact Jfuse for explosive shells, a primer, a ring pin, a plunger to which the base of the firing pin is attached, locking members, adapted to be unlocked by centrifugal force and arranged normally to lock the plunger and firing pinv in inoperative position, centrifugally operated locking devices arranged to permit the plunger to move toward the primer and to lock the plunger against return to normal position after it has moved out of normal position, and spring devices arranged normally to prevent the iiring pin striking the primer when the plunger moves out of normal position, but adapted to be overcome by the impact on striking. y

3. In an impact fuse, a charge, a primer located within the charge, a firing pin, a bushing surrounding and supporting the point end of the firing pin, a movable plunger to which the base of the firing pin is attached, centrifugally operable devices to lock the plunger and firing pin normally in inoperative position, and yielding devices arranged to permit the plunger and iiring pin to move forward during Hight but to prevent the iiring pin reaching the primer until impact on striking.

4. In an impact fuse forexplosive shells, a primer, a firing pin, a plunger to which the base of the firing pin is attached, locking members, adapted to beunlocked by centrifugal force and arranged normally to lock the plunger and firing pin in inoperative position; spring devices arranged normally to prevent the firing pin striking the primer when the plunger moves out of normal position, but adapted to be overcome by the impact on striking and yielding means to hold the plunger against the locking members.

5. In an impact fuse for explosive shells, a primer, a ring pin, a plunger to which the base of the firing pin is attached, locking members, adapted to be unlocked by centrifuga-l force and arranged normally to lock the plunger and firing pin in inoperativeposition, centrifugally operated` lockingudevices arrangedto permit the plunger to move primer vvhen the plunger moves out of nortovvard the primer and to look the plunger mal position during flight, but adapted to be 10 against return to normal posltlon after 1t overcome by impact on striking.

has moved out of normal position and spring devices arranged to permit the ,plun- GEORGE DE LAVAL' ger and pin to move out of normal inopera- Witnesses: tive position during the flight of the shell RUTH J. ZELIFF, and to prevent the firing pin striking the FLORENCE L. DEEGALL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each,4 by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, ID. C. 

